CPQ can be a key part of your strategy for staying competitive

So, I’m on this flight. I’ve been sitting here for six hours. There are another six hours to go before we land in San Francisco. And I can't help but think of how this flight is the perfect example of how a company could change the entire market it operates in, just by changing the way the company itself operates.

To give you some background we’re currently at the infamous Lufthansa flight LH458. This flight represents any (and I really mean any) flight across the Atlantic. This 12-hour flight is like any other flight: it's too long.

I've realized that the pain of sitting on a transatlantic flight to attend a Silicon Valley boot-camp workshop is actually the perfect example of a problem that could be solved with CPQ.

The question I ask myself is this: "What would happen if an alternative flight covered the same distance in less than 10 minutes?"

Would that be good or bad for Lufthansa?

Would they have to change the price to this particular non-luxurious experience of business travel?

Yes, I think so.

Because if there actually was an alternative that could take me halfway across the globe in 10 minutes I would gladly pay a premium price to not be sitting here. Do you hear me Lufthansa? I would gladly pay twice as much if you could solve this 12-hour travel-thing-issue!

So, what’s the lesson learned for manufacturing companies?

Currently, you are running transatlantic flights, and the value it brings is getting from A to B. But this will no longer be enough; you must offer more than that. Somewhere in the not-too-distant future, someone will solve your 12-hour problem in less than 10 minutes. This isn't rocket science, and yet many companies fail to consider the impact this would have on their business.